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Devils 4, Canadiens 3: A fitting result

November 17, 2019, 11:42 AM ET [21 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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Five observations from New Jersey vs Montreal:

1. The Devils deserved two points

The path to victory was quite rocky. From wasted opportunities, especially on the power play, to a barrage of penalties, to needing a controversial call to go their way late in regulation, there were no shortage of moments it felt like the Devils would stumble into yet another loss. But they didn’t, and it’s hard to argue the end result wasn’t fitting.

Shot and chance generation has been a big issue for much of the season. It was anything but last night. The Devils piled up 43 shots on target and 15 Grade A chances, their 2nd highest output of the season (topped only in the 7-6 game vs Tampa Bay).

They bested the Canadiens by nine shots, nine(!) high-danger looks, and controlled 64.16% of the Expected Goals. You’re going to win a lot of games doing that, particularly when going up against backup goaltenders.

2. Taylor Hall will never score again

There’s bad luck, and then there’s whatever Taylor Hall has right now. The poor lad threw everything but the kitchen sink at Keith Kinkaid. Heck, he might have thrown the kitchen sink too. Hall registered nine shot attempts and six scoring chances (four high-danger), both of which were game highs. He was all over the puck and had every opportunity imaginable to convert. Somehow, some way, he didn’t.

Hall is on a ridiculous 13-game run where he’s scored just once despite piling up 80 attempts, 46 shots, and 40 chances. That’s obviously not going to continue, and he’s still doing a lot in the meantime, but, man, potting an extra goal here and there would make a big difference for a Devils team that has played in seven one-goal games during that stretch.

3. The Goose is on the loose

Nikita Gusev was an absolute boss in Montreal. There’s not much – any? – debate it was the best game of his NHL tenure. He scored the Devils’ opening goal late in the 1st period to draw even, led the Devils in Corsi (65.63 CF%) and Expected Goals (84.03 xGF%) at 5v5, and finished 2nd – only to Hall – in shot attempts and chances. He was all over the puck and seemingly every play he made was a good one. Pretty much all season long Gusev would a) find the scoresheet but get caved in or; b) post adequate on-ice numbers and fail to generate anything. This time around he did both.

4. Mackenzie Blackwood held up

Playing in a road back-to-back against a strong Montreal side, it was fair to wonder how Blackwood would hold up. Very well, apparently. Though the Devils didn’t give up a ton of high-end looks – Montreal was credited with only six Grade A chances – there were 34 pucks put on target, with 12 coming off the sticks of Shea Weber, Brendan Gallagher, and/or Tomas Tatar. It wasn’t a walk in the park where he could have enjoyed a pint in his crease between tests. He faced plenty of rubber and made enough saves to give the Devils a chance to get back into the game, which has not been a normality in recent years. Hats off to him.

5. A tough watch

The Devils’ performance in extra-man situations was terrible for the vast majority of the game. Forget about generating chances – they couldn’t even get setup to attempt a shot. It was inexcusably sloppy considering the Canadiens rank *checks notes* 26th in attempts against and 31st in goals against per 60 minutes while shorthanded. They converted late in regulation, and in overtime, which turned a terrible power play night into a good one (you take 33% every time), but they clearly have to clean up some things prior to Boston.

numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com

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